Four steps to securing sensitive data in the cloud
For organizations across the globe, the journey to effectively manage, and extract value from, sensitive data in the cloud isn’t a new one. IT and security professionals have long struggled with challenges to the easy adoption of cloud technologies, and the question of how to ensure that data, including personal identifiable information (PII) or sensitive data, stays safe and compliant with regulatory requirements, without sacrificing data utility, remains a top challenge.
In 2020, the ongoing global pandemic increases this obstacle as remote work drives businesses to move more activity to the cloud quickly. A cloud usage survey released in May found organizations had already surpassed their 2020 cloud spend budget by 23 percent -- highlighting the question of how well data is being protected during this shift to home offices.
Is it time to retire your VPN?
Historically, one of the most popular tools used to connect remotely to a corporate work environment has been a virtual private network -- VPN for short. A VPN enables corporate users to send and receive data across public networks such as the internet through a secure encrypted tunnel, providing something akin to a direct, private connection to the corporate network.
However, VPN technology was introduced at a time when business IT environments reside on business premises, and did not include distributed elements that are now commonplace, such as cloud computing, mobile devices, and flexible remote work policies. Even as VPNs have adapted to stay relevant to some of the changes in how people now work, they have struggled to keep up with the modern threat landscape.
5 generations of SaaS: How the value proposition has changed, and why
SaaS, especially B2B SaaS, has 5 generations (so far) that don’t only show the growth of technology but also the changes in the market. I call them generations because they are not only built one on top of the other, but also co-exist simultaneously, each continuing to bring value as new generations come after them.
With each consecutive generation, SaaS has moved from full "hands free" automation towards greater customization and flexibility for the customer. Why has the value proposition changed? And what does it say about the market for SaaS today?
The tech industry and recycling: The need-to-knows
The tech industry holds the trump card when it comes to innovation surrounding recycling -- considering they are, in fact, the innovators. As the world becomes more environmentally conscious and the EU sets targets to make all plastic packaging recyclable waby 2030, businesses across the globe are looking for innovative ways to reduce their own waste through the production process and have a more circular economic approach.
As the tech industry strives to become a role model for recycling, we discuss the approaches some tech companies have taken and the benefits of taking recycling seriously.
Driver Booster 8 keeps your drivers up to date even without an internet connection
Keeping drives up to date is an important part of system maintenance and optimization, and a recent update to Windows 10 removed a useful driver updating option. The newly released Driver Booster 8 is here to help, making it easy to keep all of your drivers up to date, even when you do not have an internet connection available.
The driver database has been massively expanded, and IObit says that the software now provides access to more than 4.5 million drivers and game components. The updated version of the software also gives two possible routes for updating drivers depending on whether you like to live life on the cutting edge or not.
Audials One 2021 records audio and video streams faster than ever before
The updated Audials One 2021 not only enables you to watch movies and shows from a range of streaming video providers and listen to streaming music services, but also to record content from these streams so you can keep audio and video forever for offline viewing and listening. With this latest update, speed is the order of the day, but there have also been a number of important new features added.
On the audio front, Audials One 2021 lets you listen to a wide range of online radio stations, as well as streaming music from the likes of Spotify, Deezer and Tidal. Importantly, it is also possible to record individual tracks, entire shows, or anything that is played through your soundcard.
Hybrid cloud application delivery in financial services
The financial services sector is experiencing significant commercial disruption coupled with rapid innovation as established institutions strive to become more agile and meet evolving customer demand. As a result, financial services organizations are undergoing rapid digital transformation to meet changing customer needs and preferences, and to compete with a new generation of digital-native competitors. Hybrid cloud environments play a key role in this strategy, allowing greater speed, flexibility, and visibility over application delivery than on-premises data centers while also reducing costs.
But the move to hybrid cloud introduces new challenges as well. So, as financial services organizations plot their strategy for transformation, firms must make critical technical decisions about the clouds and form factors best suited to host their hybrid environment. They also need to consider how they will secure web applications against evolving threats such as ransomware, data theft, and DDoS attacks through measures such as DDoS protection and using a Zero Trust model. At the same time, they must also maintain regulatory compliance, governance, and auditability across complex, fast-evolving infrastructures.
Not all workloads are created equal
Choosing a Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) provider can be an overwhelming task, especially if your organization is using DRaaS as a first step into cloud services. There are many solutions to choose from including large providers like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, and also smaller or more focused providers.
The decision to work with a cloud provider for DRaaS can be clearly defined by classifying your requirements and confirming that the provider that you choose completely meets those requirements. Large cloud service providers, or "hyperscalers," may seem like the best choice for your cloud needs. However, choosing a provider based solely on the size of the organization is not always the best criteria. Hyperscalers do provide certain advantages, but keep in mind that there are also benefits to choosing smaller cloud providers that will offer individual attention and deliver more customized services. Doing your due diligence while investigating all of your options can benefit you in the following ways.
How unified XDR platforms enhance security protection for the enterprise
Credential theft and forgery are among the leading stealthy cyber threats. The 2014 eBay breach that exposed the personal details of 145 million users is one of the high-profile cases of such surreptitious cyber-attacks. Bad actors obtained the usernames and passwords of legitimate users to steal information and compromise the organization’s database.
What makes credential theft and forgery more serious than most other cyberattacks is that the illicit access to systems or databases usually remains unnoticed for a long time. A successful attack is difficult to detect and resolve. In the case of the 2014 eBay incident, the hackers managed to maintain complete access to the user database for 229 days.
O&O Defrag 24 completely automates optimizing your hard drive
O&O Software has released the latest version of its hard drive optimization tool, O&O Defrag 24 Professional Edition. One of the key new additions to this version of the software is a unique "Install & That's All" feature.
This new feature aims to bring drive optimization to everyone, without the need for complex or time-consuming configuration. The idea is that you need simply install the software and it will immediately ensure that your drives are optimized at all times -- you may never have to open up the program! Of course, if you like the idea of manually tinkering with things, you can still do so.
Microsoft launches public preview of Defender Application Guard for Office
Microsoft Office is one of the most popular pieces of software in the world, and the fact that it is so widely used means that it is often targeted for malicious reasons. Just as viruses tend to target Windows rather than macOS or Linux simply because of the sheer number of people using the operating systems, so Office's popularity means that it can often be attacked by malicious files as well.
But Microsoft has a way to offer protection. In addition to the Windows Defender anti-malware tool that is built into Windows, the company has now just released a public preview of Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Office.
Making the case for Trust in Zero Trust
As WFH continues and bad actors and cyberthreats thrive, it is more critical than ever before for organizations to have a robust cybersecurity strategy in place. The best way to get started? Leverage Zero Trust.
The chief concern security teams have is keeping threats and attacks out of their organizations. This is why CISOs make significant investments in security controls that protect important vectors like the network, data center, cloud, email and endpoint. This defense-in-depth approach is essential to detect and block threats, but they need to be bolstered with Zero Trust capabilities. Why? Simply put, because attacks and breaches continue to occur. In fact, we know that 64 percent of CISOs believe their organization is more likely to experience a data breach due to COVID-19, and an additional 30 percent of CISOs have seen more attacks on their IT systems as a direct result of COVID-19.
These 5 trends in employee payments show the advance of American businesses
Businesses must constantly adjust to innovation. This year, American companies have incorporated new digital currency trends like never before. From cryptocurrency to AI, these offerings have revolutionized how employee payments operate.
Here are the top five trends in employee payments.
Microsoft launches Expressive Pixels app to help you create animations
Microsoft has launched a new open source app for Windows 10 which has been designed to help users create and share animated content. The company says that the primary target for these animations is small, third-party LED panels but Microsoft Expressive Pixels can also be used to turn creations into animated GIFs which can be used in a variety of ways online.
While animations can be as simple or as complex as you like, the tools you're presented with in the app serve to make the entire creation process as easy as possible. It does not really matter if you have never used an animation tool previously, as Microsoft Expressive Pixels works very much like a standard image editing tool, albeit it one that lets you easily build up a series of frames into a looping animation.
The many privacy concerns surrounding contact tracing efforts for COVID-19
Contact tracing is being touted as the best way to keep the novel coronavirus under control and avoid yet another country-wide shutdown, at least until a vaccine can be developed. The process has many benefits and was seen as integral to the success in staunching the spread of COVID-19 in a few different cities in Asia. However, there are quite a few hurdles to overcome in the process of implementing successful contact tracing efforts in the United States.
For starters, manual contact tracing requires a large workforce as well as time and money. Apps, on the other hand, can be implemented quickly and for a relatively low cost.This option seems simple and unproblematic enough at first glance but, upon further inspection, poses a threat to the privacy of any and all users. Despite their promise of aiding in the eradication of COVID-19, If left unregulated, contact tracing apps put your personal information at risk and open up potential abuses of that information for decades to come.
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